An Urban Adventure…

After a very wet Saturday ride to Snoqualmie Falls, our team was ready for a more enjoyable experience on Sunday.  So I proposed an “Urban Adventure Ride” through the streets of Seattle.  I’ve done this ride a few times before, but am never confident about “leading” a ride until I’ve actually done it.  Even so, a group of brave riders including Bob, Janine, Hiep, Bart, Jason, Eric and Kim agreed to join me.

We met at the Albertson’s parking lot, for reasons you’ll later understand.  The route goes across I-90, then through the tunnel, which is really fun.  Experiencing the artwork and coming out on the other side feels like entering another world.  There’s a trail that leads across MLK, then follows backroads out to Dearborn.  That’s where our Urban Adventure began…

We rode down Dearborn, then jogged over to S Jackson, enjoying smells of Dim Sum as we headed towards the waterfront.  The traffic was pretty light on Sunday, and I think we were the only cyclists on the road.  When we came to the waterfront, we discovered a newly paved trail along Alaskan Way.  We cycled past Starbucks and SODO, and lots of familiar sights in the industrial area of Seattle.  The trail then continues along Spokane Street and Harbor Avenue, on a pedestrian/bike only overpass.  It’s so cool you can ride all the way into West Seattle on bike trails, avoiding the roads and traffic

We took the bike trail along Alki, enjoying the views of the city, waterfront, and lots of people playing volleyball and even swimming!  We past the Statue of Liberty, and arrived at our destination… Starbucks on Alki (We decided on Starbucks vs Tully’s in honor of Grace).  We enjoyed a leisurely snack stop, then returned home by the same route.

Eric and Kim lead us out of Alki along the waterfront, then Bob and Janine took over through “the Hood”.  It was so nice to sit back and follow our team on an effortless trip home.  I think we were all feeling it by the time we hit Honda Hill, but we bravely pedaled the last stretch home.  When we finally reached the parking lot at Albertsons, the sun was shining and we had worked up a sweat… the perfect reward… Baskin Robbins ice cream

It was a great ride, fun adventure, with beautiful views, yummy food, and a wonderful group of friends.  It doesn’t get much better than that for me :)  We hope you all enjoyed your Saturday rides too!